It’s Time to Rise

Christians, I’m talking to you, and to me. If there’s one thing this time of societal unrest and chaos has taught me, it’s that we have been too busy being distracted and too lazy as a body of Christ. I include myself in this.

Matthew 22:14 says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” As I was reading my Bible in the book of Acts, I began to realize how true that was of Judas and it was sobering. Look at Acts 1:16-17, “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.” Forever, for eternity, Judas, who was chosen among the twelve apostles, having a part in the ministry of Jesus, sold out to the devil and gave up his call. If we go on reading we see the horrific manner in which he died, but then in verse 20 we see the Old Testament prophecy coming to pass. Acts 1:20, “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it; and, Let another take his office.’

Let another take his office. The Word says in Isaiah 55:11, “… My word be that goes forth from My mouth, It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please…” Do you know what we must understand about the testimony of Judas? When he would not fulfill his call and purpose, God needed to find someone else who would. When Judas was selling Him out, I bet he never considered that he would be giving up his eternal destiny. He was distracted and his eyes were on making a quick buck.

Now let’s go back to Matthew 26:14-15, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.” Judas was willing to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver! There is much debate about the value of that 30 pieces of silver in today’s terms, but what the Dake’s reference Bible says is that it was the price of a slave. Others say it would have been between $200-$600 dollars roughly, in today’s terms. Regardless, think of the price tag Judas put on Jesus!

We may all be feeling a little appalled and heartbroken at the thought of this, but I present this truth: many of us have betrayed Jesus for a lot less. We have been greedy with our time, with our money, with our resources, and we have forgotten the invaluable gift we’ve been given. Have we stopped to think about whether or not we are trading our eternal destiny?

There were others in scripture who gave up the call of God for their lives, such as Esau who gave up his birthright to Jacob because he wanted his flesh satisfied, and the Israelites who gave up the promise land because they didn’t want to put effort in and fight the good fight of faith. Then there were people like Jonah who tried to fight the call until realizing it was worse going against God than it was going with Him! But see, the ones who stayed the course, those are the ones we see God blessing, multiplying, protecting, and glorifying.

Church, it’s time to rise from the ashes. It’s time to stand up and to take a stand in your life that Jesus is your Lord, that you will do things His way, that you will fulfill the call without letting the distractions take your destiny. Remember what Jesus said in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” In other words, my sustenance, my blessing, and my quality of life, is fulfilling God’s will. It’s time to put God first. It’s time to be His and let Him be yours.